


The New Life

by grace_elise1616



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Boyfriends, Cheating, England (Country), F/M, Fluff, Gavin's POV, M/M, POV First Person, Stalking, Swearing, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-27
Updated: 2016-03-11
Packaged: 2018-04-06 09:55:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4217220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grace_elise1616/pseuds/grace_elise1616
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The sequel to The New Kid, but can be read a ‘standalone’ fanfiction. </p><p>Gavin Free and his boyfriend, Ryan Haywood, have started their lives together in England after Gavin had spent a year in America as a foreign exchange student. Their love is obvious, yet the couple struggles with trust issues. Will they be able to stay together in this new grown-up environment?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Dream Life

“Gavin, calm down; you don’t have to yell.” Ryan motioned his hands to silence me. 

“No, Ryan! I have told you multiple times that I don’t trust you when you are always dawdling with your phone! This is supposed to be our special day.” I threw my hands up in frustration, tears forming in my eyes. “Ryan. I love you, but I don’t trust you.”

Ryan suddenly sat back in his seat, his face shocked and hurt, “Gav…why don’t you trust me? If anything, I don’t trust you! You’re always spacing out, you have to be bound to be thinking of some guy, right? Is it Dan?! I’m pretty sure it’s Dan. You’re unbelievable.” He folded his arms in anger. 

I nearly stood up in rage, “Dan?! You think I’m cheating on you with Dan?!” I couldn’t help my burst of laughter in disgust. “No, no. Your secret girlfriend, Wendy—“

“Cindy.” Ryan interrupted.

“Whatever her bloody name is! All you’ve been doing today is emailing her. Ryan. I don’t see this working out anymore…” I breathed, defeated. 

Ryan’s face changed from anger to sadness when he heard what I said. His shoulders slumped and he slowly reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small brown box. Ryan’s eyes never left the ground as he placed the closed box on the table. “Then what am I supposed to do with this…?” Ryan mumbled and nudged the box closer to me. 

My heart had stopped. My vison began to blur. My hand got slower and heavier as it approached the box. Then…

* * * 

My eyes popped open. I quickly scanned the room to find it was just my bedroom. Then slightly turned my head behind me to see Ryan fast asleep with his arm around me. Like always. I was his little spoon and I could never be happier there. I relaxed into his arm and steadied my heart beat. 

Ryan rustled lightly and his arm pulled me closer to him. His face was against my neck and he whispered, “You okay, Gav? I felt you jump like three feet in the air.” 

I tried to cover my shaking voice, “Yeah Ry, I’m okay. Thank you. It’s just that bad dream I’ve been having. I don’t know why it keeps happening.”

There was a silence for a moment. Then Ryan sighed, “Well, we did have lasagna with cheddar cheese last night. That cheese contains lots of tryptophan, which is known to give people vivid dreams.”

I chuckled at Ryan’s nerdy knowledge. “Okay Mr. Physics Man, I didn’t ask fo—“

“Eh, eh. That was not physics in any form. Yet, I like the name Mr. Physics Man, but can I change that a tiny bit?” Ryan asked.

“Sure. Change it to what?”

“Daddy Physics Man?” 

Before I could react, Ryan had pulled me onto my back and swiftly had made his way on top of me, hovering a few inches away from my face. His sexy grin was intoxicating. And that goddamn dimple. 

My heart rate was back up and the grin was contagious, “Yes, Ryan. You can be Daddy Physics Man. On one condition though.”

“What would that be?”

“You’re only Daddy Physics Man to me.”

The devilish grin widened into a fully blown smile. “Deal.” He lowered his face onto mine and we shared a midnight kiss.

* * *

My life with Ryan could not be any better. It’s like our life together came right out of a Rom-Com or teen fiction novel. The cute little dates we went on, our inside jokes, our feelings toward each other, everything was that perfect lovey-dovey stuff that people would strive for. 

After my year in America, Ryan decided to move back to England with me. He had so much money left from his ‘past life’, as he liked to call it, that he was able to buy a reasonably sized flat, or apartment as the Americans would call it. When I arrived home, I introduced my mom and dad to Ryan and explained everything with Barbara and Michael, Ray, and Lindsay. They trusted me enough to live with Ryan to help him adjust to England if Ryan could find a flat near their house in case of emergency. So Ryan and I went flat hunting and found a nice place right outside of Oxford which was only ten minutes from my parent’s house. So I was allowed to move in with Ryan.

Ryan worked really hard on his schooling online and worked day jobs here and there at family owned shops and things, just to get by. I went to a higher school than I had been before, which didn’t include any of my “friends” from my last school, which is all I wanted. To focus on my study to get the hell out of school. From Ryan’s successes from his American school duel enrollment achievements, he was able to zoom through his bachelor’s degree and was currently working on his masters when the University of Oxford approached him. The headmaster at the university told him that a physics teacher was needed for evening classes and that a doctorate’s degree was not needed to start the job. Of course Ryan took the job and was earning three times as much as he had been. We were no longer “getting by” but were living very comfortably. 

A year later I finished my GCSEs and decided not to apply for a college or university. And with Ryan making all the money, we agreed I didn’t even have to try to find a job. So, there I became the typical “stay at home wife” who cleaned the house, took care of the pet, and waited for my boyfriend to come home every night. The luxury of living in a city like Oxford is that everything is right there; the food market, the park, the University, everything! I didn’t have to learn to drive a car, although Ryan has been trying to teach me little by little. 

So let’s see, Ryan is 20 years old and works at The University of Oxford as a Physics teacher from around 3PM to about 7PM for the “not as intelligent” students. I am currently 18 years old and unemployed, only as a “house wife”. We have a two bedroom flat right outside the heart of Oxford and a cute orange Tabby kitten that we named Thomas O’Malley after the alley cat from The Aristocats. 

And at the end of every night, I would snuggle up to Ryan in our bed and he would pull me closer into his spoon. Life couldn’t get any better. I am loving my new life.


	2. Old Faces, Old Memories

Early morning shopping was my favorite thing to do. Ryan and I needed to get some things from the market, so I volunteered to go and fetch the items. Therefore, I set off for the local market in town. 

I was browsing through the apple carts trying to find just the right apple for us when I thought I heard a familiar voice. I looked up from the barrels, and over in the plum cart, there stood a face I hope I’d never have to see again. I crouched really low, hiding behind the pear barrels, and I tried to think of the best way to handle this situation. 

I must have thought longer than I realized because the produce seller spoke over the counter, “Excuse me, lad. But are you going to pay for those?” The old man pointed to the apples that were in my basket. I quickly jumped up, embarrassed, “Oh, yes sir. I’m sorry. Here you are, 30 pence, yes?” I handed the man the money. I smiled and turned around to leave when I bumped into a guy who was standing behind me. “Oh my God! I’m terribly sorry, mate.” I spoke and looked up at the guy’s face. My heart stopped once again. 

“Oh, that’s alright. Oh by the way,” He held two plums in his hands and was gently squeezing them, “are plums supposed to be soft or hard for them to tast— wait a second, Gavin? Is that you?”

Shite. I was caught. Deep breath in. “Oh, Dan! I didn’t even realize it was you.” I lied. 

“Oh Gavin! What a small world this is, it’s been how long now? One, two years?” Dan, my ex-boyfriend asked, trying to make small talk.

“I suppose so.” I replied. To be exact, it had been three years and two months and some odd days since we had last seen each other. 

“Oh, love, I’ve missed you so! I heard you left England, did ‘ya? I was gutted!” Dan exclaimed.

I was caught off guard so badly, I just had to revert back to young teenage Gavin, “Yeah. After all the shit you started at school, I had no choice but to move across the planet away from you.” I sneered. 

His eyes got wide and his excited expression faded. “Oh, right. That was so long ago, back when we were just lads, right B?”

Jumping back at the sound of his pet name for me, I quickly made up an excuse to leave. “I need to get back to my place. I need to feed my cat.”

“Wait, Gavin! Where ‘bouts are you living?” 

“Uh, only a few blocks away. A nice little flat. Look, it was something to see you again. Bye.”

I’ve never wanted to leave that market faster in my life. 

* * * 

Ryan was finishing up his lunch and I sat staring at my half eaten sandwich across the table from him. He took his last sip of his milk and set the glass down on the table. 

“Gav, are you okay? You normally eat faster than I do. Anything wrong?” Ryan inquired with concern.

Looking down at my plate, “I’m fine. Just thinking.”

Ryan got up and made his way over to me. He bent down and gave me a big hug, kissing my neck. “Thinking about what, babe?”

“Well, while I was at the market, I ran into Dan…” 

He instantly let go of me at the sound of Dan’s name. “Wait, you’re ex, Dan? The asshole, Dan? That Dan?” 

I nodded. “He was happy to see me…he acted like nothing happened and that I just left the country for no reason.”

Ryan’s face scrunched up in disgust, “Ugh. That’s awful.” He embraced me again, “I’m sorry you had to face him alone. I think it was better that I wasn’t there or else I probably would have killed him.” 

We both laughed at the thought of Ryan killing someone. Not like he ever would do that. 

He stood up from his place on the floor and I stood from the kitchen chair. We shared an intimate kiss then Ryan had to get ready for work. 

“You’ll be okay while I’m at work, right?” Ryan held my face with his hands.

I nodded.

“Good.” He brought my face to his for goodbye kiss. “I’ll see you after work.”

* * *

I was just setting up for my tea time at 4:00 when there was a hard knock on the door. Ryan had left for work an hour earlier and I wasn’t expecting anybody that afternoon. I made my way over to the door and looked out the glass pane.

“What the hell?”

He knocked again, and even though I was watching him, the loud sound made me jump back. 

“What do you want, Dan?” I growled as I swung open the door. I stood in the doorway so he couldn’t come in.

“God, Gavin, I’ve been going out of my mind! How are you? I know I just saw you a few hours ago, but my God, I’ve missed you so much!” Dan reached his hand out toward my face and I smacked it away.

“I’m fine. Why are you here?”

“B, I’m sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am. Please let me in so we can talk about what happened.”

“There’s not much to talk about. You told me you loved me, then you went and sent my picture to everyone at school making fun of me. That about covers it all, don’t you think?”

“I—“ He ran his hands through his hair and pulled them up, leaving his hair to stick up in all directions. “I screwed up! I’m sorry, I was in that mind set of ‘I’m too cool for him’, but the truth is, ever since you left, I’ve missed you so much. I tried everything in my power to get the guys to say sorry for mocking you, but then I found out you left the country! I thought I’d lost you forever. Then when I saw you again in the market, oh, I was so relieved you were back. I am so sorry for spreading those pictures around. I wasn’t thinking…”

“Wow. You are so pathetic.”

“Gavin—“

“No, I need you to go.”

“Can we please just talk about this?”

I put my hand on the door and started to step back. “I would say I’m sorry too, but I can’t, Dan. I’ll never be sorry for leaving you after what you did to me, especially when it made me realize what kind of guy you really are.”

“I’m not that guy!”

“Are you serious right now? Dan, you are that guy. Have a good day.” I began to shut the door but he put a hand out to stop me. “I thought it was clear to you, but it seems we aren’t on the same page. So let’s try this again. We’re over, Dan.”

“B, please! I will never hurt you again.”

My body was shaking and I was dangerously close to crying. My fear and hurt that still remained from our past relationship stung me. Had this been before my year in America, I probably would have jumped on him and felt safe in his arms. But, Ryan was my protector and lover and everything to me; I wasn’t about to let this pleb ruin that for me. “It’s way too late, Dan.”

“Gavin,” he pleaded, and his eyes had a strange heat to them as I closed the door farther. Before I realized what he was doing, one arm was wrapped around my waist, the other hand curled around my neck, and his lips were hard against mine. 

I struggled against him, trying to pry him off of me, but I was too weak and scared to do such a thing. I placed my hands on his chest and pushed with all of my might. All of a sudden, he flew off of me. For a second I was proud of myself for being able to push him hard enough, then I saw the real force: Ryan. Ryan had tugged Dan off of me, turned him around, and sucker punched him in his jaw. 

“Get the fuck off of my boyfriend!” Ryan belted in Dan’s face. “Now scram and never come back, you creep.” He yelled as Dan scrapped to get up and ran back down the street. 

I tried to catch my breath and sighed in relief. I went to hug and thank Ryan, but he turned back to me in anger, “Was that Dan? Why was he here? How did he know where you lived? And why the fuck was he making out with you?”

I was befuddled by all of these questions. I tripped back into the apartment, and tried to answer Ryan, “That was indeed Dan. He came by to try to get me back. I told him earlier that I lived on this street, I guess he had to try every door to find our place. And he attacked me! I was trying to shut the door in his face but he made his move!” Ryan stared at me while he stood in the living room. I sat down into the chair and held back my tears and watched as Thomas slept on the windowsill.

Ryan exhaled and walked over to me and bent down next to the chair. He held my hand and spoke softly, “You know what this reminds me of?” he paused, chuckled a small laugh, “It reminds me of when Barbara tried to break us up back in high school. I believe that Dan did that. I trust you enough that you wouldn’t throw yourself at a dick like that. I’m sorry for yelling at you, Gav.” He looked kindly at me and smiled sweetly. “Hey.” He cradled my face with his hand, “I love you.” 

I couldn’t help but smile back at him. I leaned forward and kissed him. “I love you too, Ryan.”

“Good.” He stood up and reached into his pocket, “Now. The only reason I came home was to give you this…” he pulled out a Lion candy bar from his pocket. “I knew it was tea time, and I know you love these…it might be a little melted and smashed, but…hopefully it’s still good, right?” He let out an awkward laugh. 

I relaxed myself and let out a laugh at my love for this man. “Thank you, Ry. It is greatly appreciated. Now, get back to work, would ‘ya? We gotta start saving up for my birthday.” I said with a wink.

“I know, babe. Okay. I’m off again.” He grinned and strolled back to the front door. But before he left he said, “Now, I don’t want to come back later and find you making out with Thomas. Save your loving for tonight.” 

He was always such a tease.


	3. Accusations

“Wakey-wakey, Gavvy!” Ryan opened the curtain in our room to let in the morning light. “Rise and shine, sleepy boy! It’s time for breakfast! I made you a pancake!” 

I groaned and barely opened my eyes to see Ryan standing at the foot of our bed with a tray of food. “Ryan, love, it’s too early for this crap. Let me sleep.”

“Awww, but you’re the birthday boy!” Ryan whined playfully.

“What…? No, my birthday isn’t until tomorrow…” I mumbled still half asleep.

“Oh come on! I made this for you and I worked really fucking hard on it...”

I lifted my head up enough to see what Ryan had prepared for me. On the plate was a few strawberries, a glob of yogurt, and a crudely heart shaped pancake with sprinkles baked into it. “Aww...Ryan. This is so sweet, but you now I don’t like yogurt.”

“Oh! I know! That’s for me. See, I was gonna make myself breakfast but I burnt all the other pancakes…so the yogurt is all we have now.” Ryan admitted. 

All I could do was smile at him. He was such an amazing boyfriend. “Alright, Ry. Let me get dressed then we’ll eat this in the kitchen, yeah?”

“I’ll see you there, babe.” Ryan pecked the top of my forehead. That was Ryan’s way of saying ‘I love you and you are mine’. 

Ryan went out of the bedroom and I decided to take a quick shower before heading out into the main living room to see Ryan had moved the kitchen table in front of the small fireplace.

“Why did you move the tab—“

“It’s eleven degrees Celsius which means its fifty-two degrees Fahrenheit.” Ryan interjected.

“That’s normal May temperature!” I joked back. “You’ve been living here for two years now! You should be used to it.”

“Gavin, a Southern American is never used to the cold weather. Plus, it’s more romantic here. I thought we’d talk about what you wanted to do once Michael, Lindsay and Ray arrive tomorrow.” 

“Okay. As long as you’re happy, I guess we can sit here for breakfast.” And with that, I sat down and ate my rainbow sprinkled pancake.

* * *

Since it had been two years since we had last seen our friends from America, Ryan suggested that we fly them over for my nineteenth birthday. 

After the whole Dan incident, Ryan has been a little off. He has been daydreaming a lot, he’s also been on his computer most of the time once he returns from work. Normally he would return from work around half past seven, but he has been getting home around 8:30PM or even 9PM. At first I had been sadden because it cut into “our time” in the bedroom, but recently I had been getting suspicious; paranoid. But, I couldn’t be more excited to see my friends again.

It was around 10PM and Ryan was just getting in the shower. “Hey, Gav?” He belted from the bathroom.

“Yeah?”

“Can you check my email to make sure Ray has checked in for the flight? He was having trouble and I want to make sure he emailed me saying it went through.” Ryan’s voice echoed from within the bathroom.

I went over to the desktop computer in the spare bedroom which Ryan was using as a study space and logged onto Ryan’s email account. I scanned his inbox for a message from Ray but as I was reading the contacts, I noticed something very disturbing. 

I heard the shower start up and the curtain close. The tips of my fingers instantly dropped in temperature and I felt slightly sick to my stomach. My eyes stared at the sender’s name, then the subject line. My heart told me not to, but my brain told my finger to click to open the piece of mail. 

“From: Cindy Sawyer Subject: I’ve Been Thinking About You All Day   
Hey, James. I can’t stop thinking about you since our interaction last week. Where have you been hiding? I can’t get in touch with you anywhere! Please hit me up, baby. I’m so lonely :( - Your love, Cindy”

I felt like I got punched in the gut. It was déjà vu from when Barbara was in Ryan’s bed. I didn’t want to read anymore but yet I clicked out of the email and found another one from Cindy dated a few weeks back.

“James! I’m just lying in bed, bored. Care to join? I’m so glad we’ve kept in touch, let’s hang out tonight. I promise you won’t regret it ;)”

I didn’t know whether to feel sadness or anger, but I felt a mixture of both. If what these emails are implying, Ryan was not exclusively mine; which made me feel fear and disgust. I smashed the power button on the computer tower and ran into our bedroom. Unlike last time, I couldn’t just hop on a bike and run away from my problem, I had to face my dilemma like an adult. I got myself together and sat up on the edge of the bed and waited for Ryan to walk into the room. 

Eventually, Ryan walked into the room in his towel and made his way to the dresser for his pajama pants. He noticed me on the bed, “You see any email from Ray?” He asked reaching into the drawer.

“Nope. I did see an email from your lover.” 

Ryan’s head popped up and looked at me in the reflection of the mirror. “What?” He dropped his towel and pulled on his pants.

“I went on your email and saw all these messages from this bird flirting at you! Who is she, Ryan?” I snapped, my jaw clenched. 

He walked over to the end of the bed and sat next to me. “Gavin, I’m lost. Please tell me what you are talking about.”

“Ms. Sawyer?”

Ryan’s eyebrow raised for a second, “OH! What about them?” He questioned sincerely.

Gasping for air, “What about them? What the hell, Ryan?! Why was she such a whore-case in her emails, huh? What have you been doing without my knowledge?!” 

“You’re joking.” Ryan laughed, not taking me seriously. “What? You don’t actually think I’m cheating on you, do you?” He asked once he saw my expression.

My eyes burned from the tears I was holding back. There was a painful lump in my throat; I swallowed hard and spoke up again, “I wish I was.”

Ryan stood and backed away from me. The pain was obvious on his features. “W-why would you think such a thing?” he questioned as his voice began to raise. “You know how much I love you and yet you don’t even trust me?” he continued. He ran his fingers through his hair as he paced the floor in front of me.

“I’m sorry, Ryan, but it kind of feels that way at the moment!” I fired back at him.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Ryan’s voice boomed through the bedroom. He took a step closer to me, making me flinch.

“Y-you know what I m-mean.” I tried to keep my voice steady. The sound came out soft and cold. “All these nights of you coming home late, you never wanting to go out to eat with me, and now I find all these emails from this Wendy chick—“

“Cindy?” Ryan interrupted.

I threw my hands in the air in exasperation, “See?! You’re even defending her! Look, I’m not a love expert but I know people can like any gender, I don’t want to get technical with you, but just saying you’re ‘gay’ doesn’t mean you can’t cheat on me with a female. We’ve had the Barbara thing in the past and I don’t want you to do something like that again…”

“That’s all it is?” He asked sounding slightly hopeful. “That’s why you think I’m cheating on you?”

I nodded.

“Oh my God, you are so stupid.” He muttered, a smile resting on his lips.

“Ryan!” I yelled offended, “Now is not the time to insult me! This isn’t funny so get that smug look off your face!”

Ryan sat back down on the edge of the bed and took my hands and pulled me closer to him.

“Let go of me.” I spat in annoyance. 

Ryan ignored me and cupped my face and brought my lips to his.

Confused I asked, “What was that for?”

“Look. The most important thing in a relationship is trust. All you can do is trust me, I am not cheating on you, Gavin. I love you. And only you. Let’s get past this and have a nice little party for your birthday with our friends, alright?” Ryan placed a soft kiss on my forehead.

I sighed. “Okay, Ry. Let’s make my birthday a good one.”


	4. Birthday Party

It was finally my birthday. Today is the day I see my American friends again. Today is the day the whole gang is back together again. Today is the day…

My train of thought was interrupted by the smell of smoke. I was still in bed, just waking up when I smelled the fumes. I sat up and my eyes jolted open. I looked over to the other side of the bed to wake Ryan up, but he wasn’t there. Panic filled my body. 

“Ryan?!” I jumped out of bed, “Ry?!” I ran out into the hall and checked the bathrooms, I tripped out back into the main hall and stumbled into the living room. I saw a big puff of smoke coming from the oven in the kitchen with Ryan trying to get a glass of water from the sink. “Ryan! What on Earth are you doing?!” I ran into the kitchen to try to help the situation.

“Shit. Gav. Sorry…” Ryan spoke with a guilty tone. “Watch out!” Ryan threw the water on a small fire from within the oven. The fire went out and produced more smoke that escaped into the kitchen. Once the smoke cleared for a second, I could see the burnt, now soggy, cake in the cooker, which made me start to gag. I quickly turned away and made my way to the sink and gaged more at the thought of the wet cake and smoke. 

“Shit, Gavin, I’m sorry!” Ryan dashed over to me and rubbed my back while I was still hunched over the sink. “I didn’t mean for this to—“ He was cut off by the smoke alarm. “Jesus Christ!” Ryan ran over to the detector and pressed the button to turn it off. He came back over to me and stood beside me, ran his fingers through his hair and made a loud sigh. “All I wanted to do was make a fucking cake for you.”

I stood from the sink and hugged him tightly. He waited a second before returning the hug. He rested his head on my shoulder and pecked my neck. “Gavin, I’m sorry this was the thing you woke up to on your nineteenth birthday.” 

I chuckled, “It’s alright, Ryan. You’re okay. I’m okay. The house is okay. Thomas is okay. That’s all that matters. I do think you should let me take care of the cooking in this house now that you’ve ruined two meals in the past two days.”

“Deal.” Ryan grunted into my neck. 

I broke off the hug, “But now we need to go get a cake before the party tonight.”

Ryan’s eyes got big and his mouth dropped, “Fuck, what time is it?! We’re gonna be late to pick up the guys!” Ryan took off down the hall. “I still need to get ready and take a shower and get directions to the airport and…” He was back in the bedroom and I couldn’t make out what he was saying anymore.

“Ryan?” I followed down the hallway and stood in the doorway to the bedroom and watched him tear off his pajamas.

“…and I need to text Michael to know what terminal they’re gonna be in, and…”

“Ryan.”

“…and then I need to get more tea because we’re running low, and…”

“Ryan!”

“What?!” He stopped his rushing and stared at me in the doorway.

“How about we showerpool this morning to cut down on time?” I winked.

His eyes lit up and his devilish grin grew across his face. “Good idea, Gav.” He grabbed his towel from the closet and walked right up to my face. “Happy birthday.” Then he planted his lips to mine.

* * *

Ryan and I waited in the airport for Michael, Ray, and Lindsay. We stood near the escalators so we wouldn’t miss them. I looked over at Ryan who was on his phone, “Ryan!”

“What?! Are they here?!” He instantly jumped from his spot on the wall and looked around for them.

“Not yet. I just wanted to make sure you are looking too and not on your phone.” I watched him slowly lean back on the wall and slide his phone in his pocket. “You miss them too, huh Ryan?”

Ryan smiled at me, “Yeah, I do. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t think we’d be here together right now. They are my friends too.”

“I know, I know. I’m happy that they are my friends too.” I leaned on Ryan and he wrapped his arm around me. I looked up at the top of the escalator and I saw Ray. “Ryan…they’re here!!” I ran from under his arm and started to run for the escalator.

“Gavin! That is the ‘down’ escalator! Don’t run up them, you fool!” Ryan yelled from the wall.

“Gavin! No! I’ll be down in a second!” Ray shouted from the top. 

“What? Is Gavin already being an idiot?” Michael joked behind him while holding Lindsay’s hand.

I tried to run up the descending stairs, but tripped and started to get hit by all the incoming stairs. The rough metal scratched me as they ran against my skin. Ray hurried down the escalator and helped me up. “Oh my God, you’re such a dope!” 

I immediately embraced him, “Oh Ray! I’ve missed you so much!” 

He laughed and hugged tightly back, “I have missed you too, buddy.”

Lindsay spoke from the escalator, “Can you two move from the bottom of it, please? There are other people coming down!” 

Ryan placed a hand on my shoulder and led me away, back toward the wall and Ray, Lindsay, and Michael rolled their carry-on bags over to the wall so we could all say hello again.

“Welcome to England, guys! Gav and I missed you so much, if that wasn’t obvious yet.” Ryan said.

“Yeah, we noticed. We all missed you too.” Michael spoke for them. 

“Well, how’s about we get your bags and then head over to our place for some lunch?” I suggested to the group.

“Tea and crumpets?!” Ray belted.

“Well, we don’t have crumpets right now, but we do have sandwiches.” 

Ray sighed. “Ugh. Fine. That will have to do, I guess.”

We all laughed. 

* * *

After our lunch of tea and sandwiches, we all gathered in the living room to catch a game of football, or as the Americans call it; soccer. It was a big game between Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain, normally I would be all into the game, but with my friends there, I was more focused on them and catching up with them, but Ray and Michael seemed to enjoy the match.

“Okay, so wait, PSG just got off sides?” Ray asked.

“No, it’s ‘off side’ not ‘off sides’.” I said.

Michael decided to chime in, “No, I think Ray’s right. Off sides.”

“No. It’s one side. Off Side. You can’t be off more than one side!” 

“Gavin, you obviously don’t know anything about soccer.”

“GAH!” I huffed. Both Michael and Ray laughed at my frustration.

I heard Lindsay talking with Ryan, “Your cat is SO cute! I saw him earlier, can I pet him?”

“Sure! He’s normally sitting on the kitchen window sill, let’s go see.” Ryan said to Lindsay.

They both left the room, leaving just Ray, Michael, and I. So I figured this was a good time to catch up.

“So, Michael, Ray, how have you guys been?” I inquired.

“Well, graduation is in one month, then we’re done with high school, huh Ray?” Michael asked Ray who was still watching the TV.

“Mmhmm.” Ray mumbled.

“Thanks for joining in the conversation, dude.” Michael hit Ray on the shoulder then continued, “Well, Lindsay and I are doing great! We both got accepted into our college of choice, which both happen to be the same school, so we won’t have to worry about not seeing each other.” Michael glanced behind him to see if Lindsay had returned, then he leaned in closer to me and whispered, “I think I’m gonna marry her.” He sat back proudly. 

“Wow! Really? That’s great, Michael! I wish you two the best of luck.” I said to him. 

A big smile broke across his face and his cheeks reddened. “I’ve never loved anyone as much as I love her. From the first day I met her in freshman year. She’s the best.” His eyes closed a little bit, his smile still growing. It was obvious how much Lindsay meant to him. “Welp. Enough of my rambling. Ray, how about you tell Gavin about your girlfriend?”

Ray’s eyes popped open wide and shushed Michael’s laughter. “She’s not my girlfriend…yet.” Ray admitted. 

“Oh? Then explain why you two kissed at prom this year, Ray? And I’m glad that finally got you into the convo.” Michael shoved Ray’s finger from his face. 

Ray huffed a small frustrated sigh, then a tiny grin escaped his mouth. “Okay, but we’re not official to everyone yet, so don’t go spreading that.” Ray then looked over at me to explain further. “Her name is Tina. She’s in the year below us, we met in our tech class. She’s beautiful, Gavin.” Ray sighed happily.

“Aw, Ray. I’m so happy you found someone like her.” I smiled. 

“Yeah, she’s great.” Ray smiled bigger. “How are things with you and Ryan, Gavin?”

“Hum…things are okay I guess…” I hesitated. 

Michael and Ray glanced at each other and both looked back with concerning looks. “What does that mean? Everything alright?” Michael eventually asked. “You guys are so perfect together!”

“Yeah, yeah. I suppose. It’s just, yesterday I saw some emails from this girl, and they were kind of dirty and it’s just…Ryan’s been coming home from work later as well, and I don’t know…it makes me think he’s having an affair…” I confessed.

Michael was listening carefully then spoke, “Well, I mean, we no longer have to worry about Barbara, right? Besides, Ryan loves you a lot, dude. He wouldn’t just throw you away like that.”

Ray chimed in, “Yeah, Michael is right. But just keep an eye on those work hours, huh? Those British girls can get pretty crazy at night!”

“Ray!” Michael hit Ray’s arm. “Don’t say that!”

Ray rubbed the spot Michael hit, “What? Why?”

“Right…okay, Ray. I understand.” I muttered. I trailed off again worrying about Ryan’s and I’s stability. I wasn’t sure if Ryan was cheating on me, but all I knew for sure was I love Ryan and I don’t want to lose him. 

Just then, Ryan and Lindsay walked back into the room, with Thomas in her arms purring. Ryan walked over and sat down next to me, wrapping his arm around me. “Lindsay sure has a way with cats! Thomas loves her!”

I looked over at Lindsay who sat next to Michael on the other side and continued to pet Thomas to sleep. “Yeah. Thomas does seem to like her.”

Ryan used his other hand and pulled my chin so that I was facing him. “And I love you, Gav.” Then he kissed my forehead and sat back to watch the game again.

I love you too, Ryan. Don’t leave me.


	5. Boyfriends Have Troubles

“Goodbye guys. Thank you so much for visiting!” Ryan waved to Lindsay, Michael, and Ray from inside the car. I stood on the outside of the vehicle to hug my friends goodbye before they went off on their flight back to the states. 

“Thanks for having us over, Gavin. And happy birthday, man.” Lindsay came in for a big hug. “Don’t forget to tell Thomas that Auntie Lindsay is just across the pond if he needs anything.” She smiled. 

Ray then came up to embrace me. “Thanks for letting us crash at your place for your day of birth. It was great.” 

“Thanks for coming, Ray. And hey, good luck with Tina.” I winked at him. 

He began to blush, then seriously said, “Thanks. But, don’t worry about Ryan and you. You guys are like meant to be. It will all work out. But just watch those work hours, huh? Brit chicks are mucho loco.”

“Ray, shut the fuck up.” Michael shoved Ray out of the way and hugged me. He whispered to me, “Don’t listen to Ray. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Don’t worry about it, Gavin. You’re a great kid.” He let go of the hug and nodded at me and gave me a reassuring smile before taking Lindsay by the hand and heading off to the entrance of the airport. I watched as Michael, Lindsay, and Ray took their bags and walked through the automatic doors to head back home. 

I got back in the car with Ryan and sat for a moment, Ray’s warning still ringing in my mind. I glanced over at my boyfriend in the driver’s seat. 

“Well, I really should be getting back home to leave for work. You ready to go?” He asked.

“Yep.”

“Oh, Gavin. We’ll get to see them again soon. Until then, we have each other.” Ryan said, pulling out of the airport drop off.

* * *

The clock read 10:40PM. Ryan was supposed to be home at 9:00PM. I paced the floor and tugged at my hair. Thomas was sleeping in his bed, the TV was off, and the only sounds I could hear was the tick-tock of the clock and my steps on the floor. 

“Where is he…?

Just watch those work hours, huh?

Ray’s words echoed in my mind. Maybe Ryan was cheating on me with that woman with the emails. Maybe he went over to her place and had some fun. How come he got to have all the fun? Where was my fun? 

I grabbed my coat and set out for the pub. 

When I arrived, I went up to the tender, “A pint.”

“Sure thing, mate.” The pub tender turned and went to fill my pint. I got my bev and began to drink away my problems.

A few pints later, I began to feel tipsy. I was just staring at the dark wood of the bar when there was a hand on my back. I turned my head to see a familiar face. 

“Hey, B.” Dan said hesitantly. 

“Hey, Dan.” 

He sat down in the chair next to me, “What brings you here so late? It’s almost midnight.” 

I let out a sigh, “Well, my boyfriend, Ryan. I think he might be cheating on me.”

“What? Can you go on?” Dan requested. 

“Well, he has been getting home later lately, and he got these emails from this bird that are like really naughty and suggestive. Well, he didn’t come home today so I decided to go out for some bevs…”

“Wow, that’s pretty shitty.” Dan placed his hand on my thigh and began to slowly rub. “I’m sorry, Gavin.” He started to lean in more. “That’s a shame your boyfriend isn’t there for you anymore. You really deserve someone who will be there when you need him.” His other hand reached around my neck and pulled my head to his and placed his lips on mine. 

I was so drunk that I didn’t realize what was happening at first. Once I realized what was going on, I pushed Dan off of me and just looked at him in the dim lights and noticed another familiar face standing behind him. 

“What did I say last time? I told you to never come back.” The man behind Dan was Ryan. “Get the hell away from the bar, Dan.”

Dan slowly stood from his seat and raised his hands up to surrender, but a smug smile made its way to his face. “We meet again, Ryan. Fancy meeting you here. You see, Gavin and I were just about to leave for my pla—“

“Gavin is mine. You really think he’d go back to you after what you put him through in the past?”

“I’m honestly surprised at you. From what I heard from Gavin; it seems you’re cheating on him. What kind of boyfriend gets emails from another lover, doesn’t leave a note when he leaves, and stays hours after work? Gavin should be looking for better guys.”

“You best shut the fuck up, Dan.” Ryan growled.

Dan’s smile grew on his face and the challenge in his eyes was more than a little apparent. “And damn, Gavin was always a nice fuck. Am I right? But, I’ll bet you don’t please him well, you’re a very large man, and therefore all the meat went towards your shoulders, not your dick.” 

Ryan’s knuckles turned white and his eyes narrowed. 

“Now, if you’ll excuse me…” Dan smiled wryly and started walking closer to me with his hand out for me to take.  
“You son of a bitch!” Ryan plowed into him and knocked him into a table, breaking it.

Immediately the whole bar started yelling and cheering, spreading apart to make room for the fight. I tried to tug Ryan off of Dan, but it was no use. Eventually the bar tenders came over and tried to peel the guys apart, but one got punched in the stomach by Dan. 

“Man, is Gavin that good of a lay now?” Dan asked even as he spit blood onto the floor.

“Do you have a death wish, dumbass?!” Ryan yelled as he landed a solid punch to Dan’s jaw. 

Dan countered and put him in a choke hold and slammed his heel into his stomach. Ryan screamed in pain and anger and reversed the hold and pinned Dan’s body to the ground and continued to beat his face.

I tried to yell over the cheers of the crowd, “Ryan! Stop! He’s not worth it!! Let him go! Let’s go!” 

Then the tenders were able to get Ryan off of Dan and held each other apart and escorted Dan out the back door, and Ryan out the front. I followed the tender and Ryan out the front door. The tender let go of Ryan’s arm once we were outside, gave me a small head nod, and turned back into the pub. 

I looked over at Ryan with blood on his shirt and bruising body. He hunched over in pain as he held his abdomen and fell to the pavement. 

“Ryan!” I rushed over to him on the ground. “Ry! Tell me you’re alright! Please tell me you’re alright!” Panic filled my body and I began to cry. “Ryan, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”

Ryan weakly spoke, “Gavin…get me up, I’ll be fine.” Ryan tried to stand back up. 

I grabbed his arm, he winced. “I’m sorry, Ryan.” 

“It’s..al-alright. I’m just…a little bruised that’s all.” He slowly stood up and looked at his shirt covered in blood. “Well, shit. I got that asshole’s DNA all over my shirt.” He held his stomach and limped over to the corner of the street. 

“Ryan! The hospital is the other way!” I yelled running after him. 

“I’m not going to that shit hole. I’m going home.” Ryan muttered as he continued to cross the street back to our flat.

I held his body up with my arms and helped him home, which luckily wasn’t too far. I helped him in the door and into the master bedroom. I sat him down on the bed and I went into the bathroom and got a wet rag and a few bandages. I returned to the bedroom and I saw Ryan sitting with his head in his hands. 

“Ryan…I’m so sorry.” I spoked quietly. I slowly approached the bed and offered the wet, cold rag. 

Ryan’s head lifted up, his eyes red and wet from tears. I sighed and placed the rag on his head and opened a few bandages and placed them over the wounds on his arms. Ryan grimaced as I went to remove his shirt, but I had to take it off of him. A big red and blue bruise on his gut showed where Dan had heeled him. “I’ll go get ice. Stay still.”

I ran to get some ice packet from the freezer and returned and gave it to Ryan who reluctantly put it on his belly. He took a sharp intake of air, then let the coldness settle. Small drops of sadness still overflowed from his eyes, and he looked at me with that tired expression. 

“Gavin…” Ryan whispered straining. “Please don’t leave me for Dan.” He began to let out a sob. 

“Shhh, Ryan.” I sat down on the bed next to him and softly placed my hand on his leg. “I won’t leave you for him. Or anybody.” I took a second to collect my thoughts. “You didn’t come home…and I told Ray and Michael about those emails I saw from that bird and Ray mentioned that I should ‘watch those work hours’ because you might be having an affair. So when you didn’t come home…I just went out for bevs and Dan was there and I was upset and I don’t know what I was thinking and then you showed up and got into a fight and now you’re hurt at it’s all my fault.” 

“Gav, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to be home this late…but I can’t tell you why I was late, but you have to trust me that I’m committed to you and only you. I love you, Gavin.” 

“I love you too, Ryan.”

Ryan moved to attempt to hug me, but was thrown into a painful position and moaned in agony and fell laying on the bed. 

“Ryan!”

He took a few deep breaths, and grinned slightly, “I’m alright, babe. I’ll get over it. I just need to sleep it off, I think.” 

“I understand. Here…” I helped Ryan under the covers and placed Advil on the nightstand and kissed his cheek. “Goodnight, Ryan. Sleep well.” I turned off the light. 

“I love you.” Ryan breathed as he drifted off to sleep.


	6. “Boyfriends” Have Even More Trouble

“Looks like one broken rib and some major bruising, Mr. Haywood.” The doctor said as he read over Ryan’s file. 

Ryan laid on the hospital bed, slightly drugged, and started to sigh until he was interrupted by the pain in his abdomen. Ryan initially resisted going to the hospital the first few hours after returning home from the bar, but when he couldn’t sleep because it was too painful, that’s when I called 999. Then they ran some tests on him to see what exactly was going on. 

“Luckily the bone didn’t pierce your lungs or any other organ. The bruising will go away with time, as will the other cuts and scratches on your body.” The doctor continued. 

I stood next to the medical bed and looked at Ryan’s pained face. My entire body filled with guilt. If I had just stayed home, he wouldn’t have a broken rib. 

“Surgery is not needed in this case. Although, if it worsens, please come back and we can assess the situation from there. We’re going to keep you here overnight, just to make sure that you staying immobile for the night. We’ve given you your medication for the next six hours, so you should be good.” The doctor came over and placed the clipboard on the end of the bed. “He is welcome to stay the night with you to keep you company.” he motioned to me. “We have a nice comfy recliner there.” He pointed to a dark green cloth chair in the corner of the room. “And if you need a nurse, the button is right here.” He placed a small buzzer remote on the table connected to the bed and left the room.

There was silence in the room for a moment until the sound of sirens outside ruined it. I moved away slightly from the rails of the bed, but Ryan grabbed my hand. 

“Don’t leave.” He said. 

“I...uhh...I wasn’t going to.” I glanced at the chair in the corner. “Let me move this chair, Ryan.”

He released my hand and I made my way over to the recliner and attempted to push it closer to the bed. It weighed like 40 kilograms. I struggled to move it, so I leaned up on it and pushed with everything I could. It moved little by little, slowly making it’s way closer to Ryan. After a few seconds of trying, a nurse walked in. 

“Sir, can I help you?” She asked Ryan.

“Nope. But maybe you can help my boyfriend.” Ryan gestured to me attempting to move the furniture. 

She giggled and walked over to me and moved the chair with ease right over to Ryan’s bed. “Here you go. Anything else?”

“That’s it. Thank you.” Ryan nodded and grinned at her and she left the room. 

I reluctantly sat in the chair. “You buzzed the nurse, didn’t you?”

Ryan smiled, “Well, I didn’t want you hurting yourself just to try to move a chair.”

I leaned over the bed rails and set my head on Ryan’s arm and sighed. “Ryan, I am so sorry. If it weren’t for me you wouldn’t be here right now.”

“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have such an amazing life.” He paused for a second. “Think about it. I’d probably still be in Texas, still in the closet, going to some cheap party college on a football scholarship.”

“Right, instead you’re in the hospital with a broken rib, in a country far from home, with none of your family.”

Ryan lifted his arm so that I’d raise my head and look him in the eyes, “England is my home. You are my family, so is Thomas. And I’d break every bone in my body if it meant I got to spend my life with you.” 

Tears started to fill my eyes. Here I was thinking he was cheating on me, or no longer happy with me. Ryan loved me. I loved him. “You really mean that?”

Ryan nodded. 

Overjoyed, I sprang from my chair and went to embrace him in my arms. Ryan grimaced in pain and he took a sharp intake of air. Immediately I jumped back, “Shit! I’m so sorry!!”

Ryan huffed a laugh, “I can’t wait until I can give you a proper hug again.” Then he blew a kiss.

***

A few days passed and Ryan was back home, but he still wasn’t allowed to lift things or bend over or doing anything crazy. He took some time off of work, which I thought would help him relax for a while, but it only made him more agitated. He was the one who would normally be going out all the time, cleaning the house, and being the breadwinner. Now that he couldn’t really do much of anything, so I was left with all of the responsibilities. 

“No, Gav. You have to separate them into whites, colors, and darks!” Ryan yelled at me from his place on the sofa when I went to do the laundry. 

“Okay...does purple count as a color or a dark…?” I held up my purple shirt with stripes. 

“That counts as a dark, regardless of how faded that is.” Ryan huffed. 

“Hey! That’s my favorite shirt. I don’t care if it’s faded. It still fits me.”

“Barely.” Ryan stated and rolled his eyes as he typed furiously on his laptop. 

“Ryan...are you okay? You’ve been on edge lately.” I asked sincerely. I dropped the white underwear, socks, and shirts into the washing machine and made my way over to Ryan in the living room and sat down next to him. 

Ryan instantly closed the window he had open on the laptop when I sat next to him. 

“What was that?”

“What was what?” He questioned back to me. 

“The window you just had up before I sat here. You just closed it. I saw you do it!” I snapped. Worry filled my mind again about him having an affair. I thought back to the emails, the late nights, and I started to heat up. “It’s Wendy isn’t it?! You’re talking to her again, huh? You gonna sneak out later and hook up, again?!”

“You mean Cindy?” Ryan smirked.

“WHATEVER, RYAN!!” I belted in his face and instantly felt like bursting into tears.

“Gavin Free, I told you that I’m not cheating on you. Why don’t you believe me ever?” 

Tears formed in my eyes after realizing my lack of trust in my boyfriend. “Ryan...I’m sorry…”

“Shhh.” Ryan leaned over and wrapped his arms around me. “It’s alright, Gavin. I have never consciously cheated on you and I never will. I promise. Trust me, Gavin, I only want you.” 

“Ryan. Stop hugging me...your rib.” I spoke with a lump in my throat.

“It hurts a little, yes, but you are so worth it. Love can hurt, but it can endure anything if both are willing to make things work. Distance, sickness, time, anything can discourage one from loving another, but if both are deliberate, then there isn’t anything to worry about.”

He waited a moment then pecked my cheek. “Our three year anniversary is coming up in less than 15 days, Gav.”

“I know.” I spoke.

“I have our plans all sorted out, I think you’re going to like them.” Ryan grinned sweetly, obviously proud of the work he’s done.

“What are they?” I perked up.

“Well, you’re gonna have to wait and see, now aren’t you?” He winked.


End file.
